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The championship contender benefited from a strategy call from McLaren that contradicted decisions made by every other team during an early race safety car deployment

It was a costly decision that sacrificed track position to Verstappen in the final stages and retrospectively threw away the victory for the Australian driver

Grand Prix Outcome and Title Implications

The race winner triumphed to take his 7th victory of the season, equalling Norris and Piastri, while the Piastri was second and the British driver fourth behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz

The McLaren driver earned an extra two points by overtaking Kimi Antonelli's Silver Arrow on the second-to-last lap

Norris has been left with a 12-point lead over Verstappen, who overtook his teammate by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on 5-7 December

To secure the title, Norris must secure a podium position at Yas Marina if his rival wins the race next race day

Key Moments of the Thrilling Race

• McLaren's choice not to stop when a yellow flag was called on the seventh lap for a crash between the French team's Pierre Gasly and the Swiss team's Nico Hulkenberg
• A decision initiated by Piastri to bring forward his last pit stop in a last-ditch effort to challenge the leader came to nothing
• A surprise second podium for Sainz handed by McLaren's tactical decision

How McLaren Missed Out in The Race

The critical moment for the team was when Gasly and Hulkenberg collided as the German tried to overtake the Gasly around the exterior of Turn One on the seventh lap

The German's car was left damaged beside the circuit That brought out the yellow flag

The critical part of the timing was that it meant there were 50 laps left in the grand prix

With Pirelli enforcing a 25-lap maximum usage on the tyres, that meant anyone who made a stop at that time was committed to a rigid strategy with a additional pit stop on the thirty-second lap

Competitor Reactions and Post-Race Comments

Speechless

The McLaren driver added in his after-race conversation: Obviously we made mistakes tonight I drove the best race I was capable of, as quick as I possible, but there was nothing left out there Tried my utmost but didn't get it done

Verstappen said: That represented an incredible race for us We made the correct decision to pit It was intelligent And extremely pleased to triumph in Qatar and stay in the fight to the end, incredible

Ultimate Race Standings

• 1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
• 2. Piastri (McLaren Racing)
• 3. Carlos Sainz (Williams)
• 4. Norris (McLaren Racing)
• 5. Antonelli (Mercedes)
• 6. Russell (Mercedes-AMG)
• 7. Alonso (Aston Martin F1)
• 8. Leclerc (Scuderia Ferrari)
• 9. Lawson (Racing Bulls)
• 10. Tsunoda (Red Bull)

What's Next?

The all-important championship finale at the Yas Marina The circuit itself does not produce the most exciting competition, but yet again this evening event hosts an event which promises to be every bit as dramatic as Vettel's first title in 2010, or Verstappen's highly controversial initial championship in 2021